Combined garment form and hanger



Nov. 11, 1952 R. R. WALTON COMBINED GARMENT FORM AND HANGER Original Filed Aug. 13, 1946 I N VENTOR. I Ka W-JR nw/ n ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1952 UNITED STATE PATENT OFF was ICE.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 -0. G. 757) 8 Claims.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 690,192, filed August 13, 1946,'for Combined Garment Form and Hanger which resulted in U. S. Patent No, 2,584,218, issued February 5, 1952.

The invention described" herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for .the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a combined garment form and hanger, and more particularly to a device serving as a hanger for the suspension of garments from a rack, and as a form or core around which the same garments are wrapped during transport to prevent their wrinkling or rumpling.

Civilian and military laundry and dry-cleaning establishments use, conventional garment hangers, particularly conventional wire hangers, on a large scale for the suspension of the finished garments from racks. The customer receives the garments on the hanger, either wrapped or un- Wrapped. It is frequently the case that the garment is handled in such a way by the customer prior to his arrival home, that the garment has become rumpled or wrinkled.

Devices have been proposed for the suspension of garments inside trunks or similar containers, which are designed to preserve the shape of the garments by wrapping the said garments around one edge of the device, Such devices are customarily made of wood or similar comparatively thick and heavy material. Such devices do not adapt themselvesreadily to cheap mass production, and thus are ,not likely to be used by'laundry or dry-cleaning establishments for the purpose of giving them away to their customers.

It is thus an object of the present invention'to provide a combined garment form and hanger which serves for the support-of a garment from a rack, and as a shape-preserving form during transportation of the garment.

Another object of the-invention is a garment form and hanger, which is mass-produced cheaply from sheet material, such as p-asteboard.

Still another object of the present invention is an advertising device which may be imprinted with the name of commercial establishments and given away to customers of laundry or dry-cleaning establishments when they call for their garments. 7

These and other objects of my invention are carried out in accordance with my invention by a, rectangular device of sheet material adapted to be suspended from a rack, and supporting a garment hanger within the outlines of the rectangle, two parallel edges of the rectangle serving as a garment form.

Several embodiments of such a device are more ly described an .i ustna ted in the ,iollowin description, and, in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of one form of my device, in use as a garment form.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same device, in use as a garment hanger.

Fig, 3 is a front elevation of the device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a modified form of my device. i

Fig. 5 is a section through Fig. 2 along lines 5-5,

Fig. 6 is a section through Fig. 3 6$.

Fig. 7 is a section through Fig. 4' along lines Fig, 8 is a front elevation of another modification of my device, in which the garment-holder portion is in a plane parallel to the plane of the garment form. r

Fig. 9 is a section through Fig. 8 along lines 9-41.

More particularly, the rectangular sheet-material body'serving as the garment form or core is designated H in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. A suit of clothes A is suspended from the device in a manner presently to be described, and is Wrapped around two parallel edges of rectangle l l and thus protected frombeing wrinkled or rumpled in transport. The clothes may be protected against accidental unwrapping by means of a string or similar means (not shown).

As shown in Fig. 2, rectangular sheet 4 l is divided into upper portion I2 and lower portion I3. Portions i2 and 13 are in yieldable hinged relationship, hinge M, M being constituted, for instance, by a line scored in the sheet material of sheet l. Lines M, M commence at the edges of sheet H and extend inwardly parallel to parallel edges i5 and 16 of sheet H to points ll, ll. Intermediate the points I1 and I1, portion l2 constitutes a coat hanger l8 depending therefrom and consisting of shank l9 and garment support 26. Shank l9 and supportZU are outlined by cut 2! which extends inwardly from point i! to define one shoulder ofshank l9, then outwardly to define one'shoulder engaging edge ,of support 28, thence in a direction parallel to edges {Sand 56 to define the lower edge of support 29, andlthen conversely to define the othershoulder of support Zil and shank l9 until it arrives at point ll. Lower portion. [3 can thus be bent out of the plane of upper-section l2 and garment support 26, as is shown in detail in Fig" 5 In the recess 22 formed in the lower section "of portion l3 by cutting the garment hanger l8 therefrom, a pair of trousers or a skirt can be accommodated by placing the same over the bar 23 which is bounded by lower edge It and by that portion of cut'z'l along lines which runs parallel to edge IS. A coat suspended from hanger 29 and a pair of trousers suspended from bar 23 are then wrapped around edges l5 and it of device H in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1.

Rectangular sheet l I may be made of any suitable sheet material, such as pasteboard, galvanized sheet iron, aluminum, wood, etc. .Of the enumerated materials, which exemplify but do not exhaust the list of suitable materials, pasteboard recommends itself for its cheapness and easy workability. Advertising slogans may be printed on the pasteboard, or aflixed to whatever other material is selected for the manufacture of the device.

My combined garment form and hanger can itself be suspended from a horizontal bar 24 of a clothes rack by suspension means such as the hook 25 pivoted to portion l2 on a point located above the center of gravity of sheet II and situated n the axis of symmetry 25 thereof (see Fig. 3).

Another suspension means for my combined garment form and hanger is illustrated in Fig. 4. A slot 21 commences laterally of the axis of symmetry 26' of rectangular sheet H at the upper edge l5 of upper portion I 2 thereof. The slot, wide enough to accommodate a horizontal bar 25 of a clothes rack (see Fig. 5), extends a distance downwardly, then laterally to a point above the center of gravity of sheet H, where it is redoubled on itself and extends upwardly to a point 28 situated on axis of Symmetry 26'. Thus, if the horizontal bar is inserted in slot 21, it abuts against upper portion l2 at point 28, and device l I and any clothes suspended therefrom will be accurately balanced and will swing freely.

Lower portion l3 of sheet II, as illustrated in Fig. 4, is joined to upper portion l2 by a paper or canvas strip hinge 29, 29', which extends to points 39, 30, at which latter points shan: l9 and garment support 20 are formed from upper portion l2.

Whether the hinge which joints the upper portion and lower portion of my device is constituted by a line scored in the material from which the device is made, or by a paper or canvas strip hinge. or by a conventional knuckle hinge (not shown), is a matter of choice and mainly depends on the sheet material selected.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, the hinge which connects the upper and lower portions of the device is dispensed with, and shank I9" is bent out of the plane of sheet 1 I" on a line 30 which runs parallel to upper edge l5" and lower edge I6" of the device. Garment support 20" extends from shank ill in a plane parallel to the plane of sheet I I". Trousers or a skirt may be draped over bar 23" which is integral with lower portion I3". Suspension means, such as hook 25", are shown pivoted to upper portion or bar l2" of sheet I I". It will be understood that the slot suspension means illustrated in Fig. 4 may be substituted to equal advantage for those illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9.

I have illustrated in the foregoing description of my appended drawings several embodiments of my invention by way of example. It is clear, how.- ever, that other embodiments within the spirit of my invention can be designed without departing from the plan of my invention, by changing proportions or forms of individual parts or similar obvious alterations. such changes are withn t 560133 Of y i fil'lti lll which 5 defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A combined garment form and hanger device of thin but shape-sustaining sheet material, comprising a sheet bounded by outer side edges and elongated upper and lower parallel edges, said device including a garment-supporting portion incisecl in the interior of said sheet, said garmentsupporting portion being integral with the upper portion of said sheet, and said garment-supporting portion lyin when said device is in use, in a plane non-coinciding with the lower portion of said sheet.

2. A combined garment form and hanger device of pasteboard sheet material, comprising a sheet bounded by outer side edges and elongated upper and lower parallel edges, said device having an upper portion, said upper portion including a garment-supporting portion lying, when in use, in the same plane as said upper portion, and said sheet having a lower portion yieldably depending from said upper portion, the plane of said lower portion being, when said device is in use, at an acute space angle to the plane of said upper portion and garment-supporting portion.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said upper portion also carries a pivoted suspension hook.

4. A combined garment form and hanger device of pasteboard sheet material, comprising a sheet bounded by outer side edges and elongated upper and lower parallel edges, said device having an upper portion, said upper portion including a garment-supporting portion lying, when in use, in the same plane as said upper portion, and said sheet having a lower portion yieldably depending from said upper portion, the plane of said lower portion being, when said device is in use, at an acute space angle to the plane of said upper portion and garment-supporting portion, and said upper portion having an open slot commencing laterally of the axis of symmetry of said sheet, said slot being re-doubled on itself and terminating on said axis of Symmetry at a point spaced from said upper edge.

5. A device according to claim 2, wherein said upper and lower portions are joined by a pair of score lines commencing at said outer side edges and terminating short of the axis of symmetry of said sheet.

6. A device according to claim 2, wherein said upper and lower portions are joined by a pair of hinge strips commencing at said outer side edges and terminating short of the axis of symmetry of said sheet.

7. A combined garment form and hanger device of thin but shape-sustaining sheet material, comprising a sheet bounded by outer side edges and upper and lower parallel edges, said device including a garment supporting portion incised in the interior of said sheet, said garment supporting portion being integral with and lying in a plane offset from and parallel to the plane of the remainder of said sheet.

8. A combined garment form and hanger device according to claim 7, wherein said sheet material is pasteboard.

' RICHARD R. WALTON.

Name Date Smith Mar. 8, 1927 Number 

